Wood-distilling retort.



N0. 806,877. PATENTBD DEG. l2, 1905.

' J. T. DENNY.

WOOD DISTILLING RETORT.

APPLICATION PILE'D JULY 12,1904.

Inventor,

JOHN T. 'DENNY, OF OROMARTIE, NORTH CAROLINA.

WOOD-DISTILLING RETORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 12, 1905.

Applicatiqu filed July 12, 1904. Serial No. 216,252.

To all whom, t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN T. DENNY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cromartie, in the county of Robeson and State of NorthCarolina, have invented anew and useful Wood-Distilling Retort, of which.the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to wooddistill ing retorts,andparticularly to one adapted for use in distillation of turpentine.

The rapid destruction of the retorts of a turpen tine-distilling plantis a source of heavy expense and much loss to manufacturers. Thedeterioration of the retort is due to the fact that the intense heat towhich it is subjected in efecting the separation of the heavierhydrocarbons, residual turpentine, pyroligneous acid, and otherby-products after the first distillation takes place, and the removal ofwhich is necessary in order to produce a high grade of charcoal, resultsin the blistering, bulging, and rapid burning out of the retort,entailing thereby not only the loss in money necessary to replace thestill, but the loss of time of the operators while the necessary repairsare made.

It is the object of the present invention in a ready, simple, thoroughlyfeasible, practical, and comparatively inexpensive manner and withoutnecessitating any change in the structural arrangement of-the retort toincrease its life to anindeiinite extent and to render it possible toadapt the4 improvements to retorts already in use.

With the above and other objects in view,l

as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, thesame consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of awood-distilling retort, as will be hereinafter fully described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts,there is illustrated one formof embodiment of the invention capable ofcarrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that theelements therein exhibited may be varied or changed as to the shape,proportion, and exact manner of assemblage, without departing from thespirit thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a View in vcrtical longitudinal sectiontaken on the line l 1*,

Fig. 3, and looking in the direction of the arrow thereon. Fig. 2 is aview in vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 2 2, Fig. 3, andlooking in the direction of the arrow thereon. Fig. 3 is a horizontalsectional view taken on the line 3 3, Fig. 1, and look: ing in thedirection of the arrow thereon.

Fig I is a perspective detail view of a portion of one of the retorts.

The retort comprises a heavy iron or steel shell l, closed at its top bya cover 2, which is held combined with the shell in this instance bypivoted bolts 3, carrying nuts 4, the cover being provided with aring-bolt 5, by which it may be lifted. The shell may be constructed inthe usual or .any preferred manner, and in order to protect it from thehigh heat necessary to char the wood, and thus obviate the buckling andblistering and burning out before referred to, it is incased in alagging 5, preferably of sheet-asbestos, which, as will be apparent, notonly operates to insulate the shell, but also positively shields thesame from the destructive action of heat while not in any appreciablemanner detracting from the operation of the heat to effect the purposesdesigned. The asbestos lagging is held in position by segments 6,preferably of cast-iron and in this instance beingshown as quarters of acircle, the terminals of the segments being provided with oriced ears orlugs 7, through which pass bolts 8 to hold'the segments assembled. Whileas a rule it will be preferred to employ quarter-segments for thepur'pose,it is to be understood that a greater or less number may beemployed and still be within the scope of the invention. These segmentswill extend from the bottom of the retort to a point near its top, or,if preferred, they may extend entirely to the top. The lugs or ears mayextend the entire width of the segmentsor may be disposed only at eachcorner thereof, and as this is immaterial and will be readily understooddetailed lillustration thereof is deemed unnecessary.

In order that the application of the heat to the retort shall bethoroughly effective to heat all portions thereof, so that the stockwill be properly subjected to the action of the heat, the retortisinclosed by a casing 9, of masonry, which extends nearly to the top ofthe retort and is then built in against the retort,

thus to prevent escape of heat at this point. The masonry is spaced fromthe shell to present an annularheating-chamber 10, in which .IVO

are disposed two baiiies 11, arranged diamety IIO rents of the heatedair, thus to cause them to travel and be carried around and impinge onthe exposed surfaces of the segments. The bottom of the shell is double,the under one 12 being flat and the upper one lbeing cone-shaped, andbetween these two bottoms is interposed a packing 14, of sand or anyother suitable material` which will serve to lag the bottom and shieldit from the effects of excessive heat. The shell extends below thedouble bottom and is provided with a heat-outtake opening 15 and aheat-intake opening 16. Highly-heated products of combustion from asuitable source of generation are supplied to the intake-opening 16,pass beneath the bottom of the retort and thence upward through theopening 15 to the chamber 10 and circulate around one-half of theretort, thence pass over the baffles 11, and finally escape through aflue 17, which leads to a chimney. (Not shown.) The lower portion of theshell in alinement with the bottom 13 is provided with a manhole 18,closed by a cover 19, and with avalved pipe 20, through which the tarand other heavy by-products are removed, and the upper portion of theshell has connected with it a pipe 21, leading to a suitable condenser.(Not shown.)

From the foregoing description it will be seen that by the employment ofthe lagging and segments the exteriork of the retort is eiectivelyshielded against the destructive action of heat, while the properoperation of the retort is not in any way interfered with. Furthermore,as stated, thelaggng and segments' may be readily applied to a retortalready in use and will thereby materially prolong its life.

Segments may be supplied to the user of the retort, and in the event ofthe destruction of a segment or a number of them repairs may be readilyand cheaply effected.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is-H l 1. A retortcomprising a lagged shell, a casing surrounding the shell andA separatedtherefrom by a heat passage-way and provided with a heat-intake openingand a heat-outtale opening, baffles arranged in the passage-way, anextension to the retort provided with an intake-opening registering withthat of the casing and with an outtale-opening discharging into thepassage-way, and a manhole and escape-pipe arranged in alinement withthe Hoor.

2. 1n a retort, a lagged shell provided with a double floor, the upperone of which is coneshaped, lagging disposed between the oors,

and a manhole and an escape-pipe in alinement with the upper floor.

3. A retort comprising a lagged shell, a casing surrounding the shelland separated therefrom by a heat passage-way and provided with aheat-intake opening and a heat-outtake opening, baffles arranged in thepassage-way, and an extension to the retort provided with anintake-opening registering with that of the casing and with anouttale-openingdischarging into the passage-way.

4. ln a retort, a lagged shell provided with a double floor, the upperone of which is coneshaped, and lagging disposed between the floors.

In testimonythat I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aHXed mysignature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN T. DENNY.

Witnesses:

D. H. BROWN, D. MGC. SMITH.

